1. THE REAGAN ERA
BIOGRAPHY
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2. RONALD WILSON REAGAN
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3. Ronald Wilson Reagan
• Was the 40th president of the United States
1981-1989 and the 33rd Governor of California
(1967- 1975)
• Nicknames: "The Gipper"; "The Great
Communicator"; "Dutch“
• Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the
1930s,where he was an actor, president of the
Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
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4. • Ronald Reagan was born • Reagan´s family briefly
in Tampico,Illinois on lived in several Illinois
february 6,1911 to towns, including
John”Jack” Reagan and Monmouth, Galesburg
Nelle Wilson Reagan. and Chicago, until 1919,
when they returned to
Tampico.
• Reagan had a
• As a boy, Reagan`s father particularly strong faith
nicknamed him in the goodness of
“Dutch”due to his “fat people, which stemmed
little Dutchman”like from the optimistic faith
appearence, and his of his mother, Nelly,
“Dutchboy” haircut; the and of Christ faith.
nickname stuck with
Ronald throughout his • Reagan was unusual in
youth. his opposition to racial
discrimination.
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5. • At 69 years old, Reagan was the
oldest elected president.
• At 93 years old, Reagan lived longer
than any other president.
• Died: June 5, 2004, in Los Angeles,
California.
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6. • Married: Jane Wyman (1917-2007), on June 25,
1940 (divorced in 1948); Nancy Davis (1923- ), on
March 4, 1952
• Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United
States President Ronald Reagan and as an influential
Firts Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989.
• She was an actress in the 1940s and 1950s, in 1952,
she married Ronald Reagan, who was then president
of the Screen Actors Guild; they had two children.
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7. • Nancy became the first Lady of California
when her husband was Governor from 1967
to1975.
• She championed recreational drug prevention
causes by founding the “Just say no” drug
awareness campaign.
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8. • Which was considered her major initiative
as First Lady.
• More controversy ensued when it was
revealed in 1988 that she had consulted
an astrologer to assist in planning the
president´s schudule.
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9. His start in politics
occurred during his work
for General Electric
Theater, where he was a
spokesmas
Originally a member of
the DEMOCRATIC
PARTY, he switched to
the REPUBLICAN PARTY
in 1962.
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10. GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA 1967 - 1975
• Republicans were impressed with Reagan´s political
views and charisma after his “Time for Choosing”
speech, and nominated his for Governor of California in
1966.
• In Reagan´s campaign, he emphasized two main
themes
 to send the welfare bums back to work
 in reference to burgeoning anti-war and anti-
establishment student protests at the University of
California at Berkeley.
• He was elected governor and was sworn on January
3,1967.
• He frozen government hiring and approved tax hikes to 10

11. • Reagan was involved in high-profile conflicts
with the protest movements of the era.
• Reagan´s terms as governor helped to shape
the policies he would pursue in his later political
career as president.
• By campaigning on a plataform of sending “the
welfare bums back to work”, he spoke out
against the idea of the welfare state.
• He also strongly advocated the Republican idea
of less government regulation of the economy
including that of undue federal taxation.
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12. PRESIDENCY 1981 - 1989
• Washington, D. C. (1981-01-20)
• During his Presidency, Ronald Reagan pursued policies
that reflected his personal belief in individual freedom,
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13. • He brought changes domestically, both to the U.S
economy and expanded military, and contributed to
the end of the cold war.
• Los Reagan en 1981
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14. Reagan and his Vice
President: George W. Bush
(1981-89)
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15. • As president, Reagan implemented
New political initiatives
As well as economic policies
• Advocating a limited government and economic
laissez-faire philosophy, but the extent to which
the implementation of these ideas was
successful is debated.
• The supply side economic policies, dubbed
“REAGANOMICS” (the free-market economic,
involving cuts in taxes and social spending
together with deregulation of domestic markets)
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16. • Reagan promised to cut back on taxes and
federal spending, and he sought to spend
more money on defense in order to
rebuild America´s position in the world
• This gave rise to a new social
phenomenon in the United States, the
“Homeless”, people who live on the
streets. For food, they usually beg.
• Critics said that Reagan was being unfair
to the poor, but Conservatives said that
many social programs were abused by
“welfare cheats”.
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17. • The Reagan program was a tax cut. In
1981, Congress approved a personal
income tax cut of 25 percent spread over
three years, and the Congress also
lowered taxes on businesses, interest,
inheritances.
• In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of
the income tax code, which eliminated
many deductions and exempted millions of
people with low incomes.
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18. DEFENSE POLICY
• As Reagan had
promised, government
spending went down in
social areas, but it
increased in the area of
defense.
• He said that “our
defense policy is based
on a very simple
premise:
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19. • The United States will not start fights. We will not be
the first to use aggression. We will not seek to occupy
other lands or control other people. Our strategy is
defensive; our main is to protect the peace by
ensuring that no adversaries ever conclude they could
best us in a war of their own choosing”.
• A strong, credible American defense is indispensable
to protecting the peace and preserving the free way of
life our people cherish.
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20. Reagan insisted on his STRATEGIC DEFENSE
INITIATIVE (SDI) which has been called “STAR
WARS” , plan whereby the scenario of the next
world war would not be the earth, but outer
space.
This important program means of defending against
the threat of ballistic missiles.
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21. Reagan´s foreign policy
• Reagan sought to achieve
“peace through strength”
During his two terms he
sought to improve
relations with the Soviet
Union, in dramatic
meeting with Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev,
he negotiated a treaty
that would eliminate
entermediate-range
nuclear missiles.
• Reagan declared war
against international
terrorism.
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22. • Reagan´s intervention in Central America
in El Salvador an Nicaragua was not well
received either in the United States or in
Latin America.
• His second term was scarred by the Irak
Contra scandal.(it involved the illegal sale
of weapons to Iran)
• Reagan had a uncanny ability to make
Americans feel good about themselves.
• Reagan was the great communicator.
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23. • Ronald Reagan had a
higher claim than any
other leader to have
won the Cold War for
liberty and he did it
without a shot being
fired. ~
Margaret Thatcher
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24. • I recall with deep gratitude
the president Reagan and
his commitment to the
service of the nation and to
the cause of freedom as
well as his abiding faith in
the human and spiritual
values which ensure a
future of solidarity, justice
and peace in our world. ~
Pope John Paul II
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25. THE RONALD REAGAN ASSASSINATION
ATTEMPT
• On march 30, 1981, that Monday the president
had traveled the short distance from the White
House to the Washington Hilton to give a talk
before union representatives. Outsidse the hotel
´s VIP entrance, reporters waited, intent on
asking him questions about Poland, where the
Soviets were threatening to crack down on the
Solidarity movement.
• When he appeared, his press secretary, James
Brady, stepped toward the reporters to field
questions.
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26. The president waved. At this moment, a man in
a raincoat pointed a 22-caliber revolver and fired
six shots in two second.
• Secret Service agent Jerry Parr shoved Reagan
into the waiting limousine, and he ordered the
driver to head for George Washington University
Hospital. This decision almost certainly saved
Reagan´s life.
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27. • John W. Hinckley,Jr.
Shot in the chest to
President Reagan.
• Hinckley, a 25-year-old • Reagan in the
college dropuot from a Washington University
wealthy family had Hospital
acted from a personal
rather than political
motive-a ludicrous hope
to impress the movie
actress Jodie Foster. He
successfully pleaded
insanity and was sent
to St. Elizabeth´s
Hospital in Washington,
where he remains.
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28. • After surviving an
assassination attempt
he was re-elected in
1984
• At the end of his two
terms in office, Reagan
viewed with satisfaction
the achievements of his
innovative program
known as the Reagan
Revolution, which aimed
to reinvigorate the
American people and
growth their optimism.
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29. • Ronald Reagan was a popular president ever to
leave office, his approval ratings were higther
than any other at the end of his second term.
• Reagan kept a series of diaries in which he
commented abour daily occurrences of his
presidency and his views on current issues,
frequently mentioning his wife, Nancy.
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30. • Died: June 5, 2004, in
Los Angeles, California;
on June 7, his body was
removed and taken to the
Ronald Reagan
Presidential Library,
where a brief family
funeral service was held.
• His body lay in repose in
the Library lobby until
June 9; over 100.000
people viewed the coffin.
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